train travel

Ed, Are you planning to start in Riomaggiore and then work towards Monterosso? There are a couple of options you could consider..... 1.) Buy P-P tickets for each trip. The tickets from La Spezia Centrale to Riomaggiore are currently €2.10 PP and from Riomaggiore to Manarola €1.80 PP. As the trains will likely be Regionale, DON'T forget to validate. If you're issued the small "theatre style" tickets, these are insérted in the left side of the validation machine. It's not likely that your tickets will be checked as the trips are very short, but if they are checked and your tickets aren't validated, it will be expensive. 2.) Buy a one-day Cinque Terre Treno Card when you arrive at La Spezia. That will provide unlimited rail travel all day between La Spezia and Levanto (Regionale trains only), as well as admission to some of the sights in the C.T. towns. Have a look at this website for the details. When it's time to head for Sestri Levante, you'll only have to buy one ticket from Levanto to Sestri Levante (currently €3.40 PP). You might arrange your time so that you end up in Monterosso at supper time. You can have a fine hot meal at one of the great restaurants there, and then continue on to Sestri Levante. Buon Viaggio!

Ah, das iz velly goot. Just what I had hoped for. Gracie!

Ed, One other point to mention. As I recall, the Cinque Terre Treno passes need to be validated once prior to first use. I can't remember for sure, but you can ask the staff when you buy them (if you decide to go that route).

We will be there on 10/19 - arriving from Pisa to CT - spend the day and continue to Florence for the night. What would be the best way? Go from Pisa directly to Vernazza and hike back to La Spezia and catch a train to Florence? How late can we do that - I suppose not too much after dark.

@Jayant, Yes, you can easily travel from Pisa to Vernazza (via La Spezia). The trip is only a few hours. You will only be able to hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. The trail segments from Corniglia to Manarola and the famous Via dell'Amore from Manarola to Riomaggiore are currently closed (and will likely be closed for the rest of the year). You'll have to take the local trains for the last two segments (tickets are cheap so that's not a huge problem). Also, I'm not sure there's a trail from Riomaggiore to La Spezia, so you'll likely have to use trains on that portion. One point to consider is that you'll have to buy a Park Pass to hike the one segment from Vernazza to Cornigila. I'm not sure that's a cost effective option for only one trail, but your choice. You can easily connect with trains from the Cinque Terre to Florence at the end of the day. The LAST train departs from Riomaggiore at 20:52, arriving Firenze SMN at 23:50 (time 2H:58M, 2 changes at La Spezia and Pisa Centrale, current fare at €19). I travelled that same route in June, so it's still somewhat fresh in my memory. As most of the trains on that route are Regionale, DON'T forget to validate your ticket prior to boarding the train on the day of travel, or you'll get nicked with a hefty fine which will be collected on the spot! Use the Trenitalia website to plan your rail journeys. Happy travels!